Two stories you should read - Apolo Ohno & Kim Dong-Sung

Picking Up a Career in Perfect Stride
“I know that I was meant to skate,” said Apolo Anton Ohno, who won “Dancing With the Stars.” “Whether it’s to stand on the podium again, or deliver a different message, I don’t know.”
By GREG BISHOP
KEARNS, Utah — The race took place more than three years ago and lasted less than 42 seconds, but Apolo Anton Ohno remembers every detail. As he watched the replay last month at the practice rink here, he surged with the same euphoria, leaning on each turn, fist pumping at the finish.
Back in tim to Olympics in Turin .....
Ohno thought about Dr. Lawrence Lavine, who had taught him how to heal naturally, who had showed him the benefits of acupuncture, who had joined him in Turin to ease the pain.
He thought about Maria Kelly, a family friend and spiritual adviser who had mailed him a quotation from the Greek philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis days before the race. The message implored him to forget about winning or losing, to “carry the struggle further.”
......Ohno decided to perfectly time the third start, and his legs churned at the exact moment the starting gun sounded, possibly even earlier. Yuki Ohno said it was as if his son were connected to that gun.
He darted to an early lead, but he also knew how much could still go wrong. The 500 is a pure sprint. He described it as “40 seconds of mayhem” and “five guys trying to eat you.”
.... Ohno crossed the line, raised both arms and screamed so loud his father could hear it in the stands. This really happened, he remembers thinking. Apolo, you really did it. You had the perfect race.
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Speedskater Finds Career Where He Least Expected
After Olympic Heartbreak, Kim Coaches Area Kids
By Amy Shipley - Washington Post March 7th 2009

South Korean Kim Dong-Sung, whose bid for gold ended with disqualification at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, directs 6-year-old Jonathan So at the Potomac Speedskating Club. (By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
After playing a reluctant role in one of the most controversial races in Olympic history seven years ago in Salt Lake City, South Korean speedskating star Kim Dong-Sung vowed never to return to the United States.
Kim was in the middle of celebrating what he assumed was his gold medal victory in the 1,500 meters when he learned he had been disqualified for interfering with U.S. star Apolo Anton Ohno, who ended up receiving the first-place medal. Kim was so upset he needed oxygen in his hotel room that night. The South Korean delegation challenged the result, then threatened to boycott the Closing Ceremonies. Some 16,000 angry e-mails from South Korea crashed the U.S. Olympic Committee's computer system. ........

Kim's persistent anguish made him determined to fix the problem in the best way he could: by becoming an international referee. The South Korea speedskating association supported his quest, he said, and figured he would also be a perfect fit to represent the nation as a member of the International Olympic Committee. But for both endeavors, he would need to learn English.
Read more ... very interesting!